When the world doesn't end
by amanda1979
Summary: A sequel to Castiels search for love, won't make much sense it you haven't read it. Starts off two years in the future and is at bit sad at first but I promise Castiel will get a happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

Castiel had always known that his vessel Jimmy should go back to his family if he ever managed to help Sam and Dean save the world and defeat Lucifer but he'd never really believed they were going to win and he'd let himself fall in love with Claire the pretty brunette who stood next to him in tears.

It was hard to hold back the tears himself and it was ironic that she had been the one to make him fight harder because he loved her and she was worth saving the world for, she was worth fighting for. Only now it was all over and he had to do what he should have done right after they'd defeated Lucifer but instead he'd stayed much longer than he should have and now saying goodbye was more difficult.

"I'm so sorry Claire" he felt a lump in his throat but he has a wife and child and he has to go home to them"

"What about us?" Claire knew she was been selfish but she couldn't bear to lose Castiel

"It should never have happened and it's all my fault" Castiels face flooded with guilt. I'll always love you" Castiel cupped her chin and gently kissed her goodbye

"Take care of her" he said to Sam and Dean who stood nearby.

There was a brief flash of light and then confusion showed on his face.

"Where am I?"

"Jimmy?" Dean asked

Claire didn't need to hear the answer, she'd spent two years with Castiel and although he still looked like Castiel she could tell it wasn't her Cas anymore.

"It's ok Jimmy" Dean reassured him "Castiel helped us defeat Lucifer and now he's letting you go back to your family. I'll drive you to the bus station" then he looked back at Sam "Make sure she's ok"

Dean left with Jimmy and Sam walked over to Claire who was still sobbing

"What do I do now?" she gasped.

"What do you want to do? Sam asked

Claire remembered when Cas had asked her that same question and she'd chosen to stay with him and help him in what had seemed like a hopeless quest at the time.

"You'd think after what we all did that we'd be allowed some happiness" she complained.

"You know it doesn't work like that" Sam said

"Well it should. I just want to go back to the motel and sleep" she answered his earlier question

"Then what?" he asked "I mean I know it's been a lot quieter but there's still demons to hunt, if you still wanted. Dean and I think of you as family now, you're always welcome to tag along"

"Thanks" she answered "but right now I honestly don't know what I'm going to do"


	2. Chapter 2

It was six months later and Claire was working on a case with Sam and Dean. She had tried to go back to a normal life but despite surviving the apocalypse many of her friends and family hadn't.

So she'd spent two months under a false name working as an office assistant but couldn't ignore the fact that there were better things she could be doing, things that made a difference even though most people would never even know.

She had finally given in and called Sam and said she wanted back in, he and Dean had picked her up the next day and the three of them had been working on cases together even since.

The case they were on now had seemed like a standard demon possession. Some guy had been complaining to the church that his daughter was possessed but they hadn't taken him seriously so Sam, Dean and Claire had gotten involved. The plan was to trap the daughter in a devils trap then perform an exorcism, assuming that her body wasn't harmed she might come out of this a little messed up in the head but otherwise ok.

They should have known by now that these things never went to plan. They arrived at the house and the girls father let them in but instead of just his daughter the front room was filled with a large group of people.

"What's going on?" Dean looked warily at the group of around 10.

"This is the welcome party Dean" the girls father said as his eyes turned black.

None oft them needed to look back at the group to figure out that the were all demons too

"Did you boys miss us" one of the women said to Sam and Dean "oh and you've bought your friend too. You three and that poor excuse of an angel killed my father"

"Meg" Sam guessed

"We're all old friends here" Meg grinned "Alistair's here too" she pointed towards one of the men

"Are we going to chat all night or are we going to fight?" Dean snapped even though he knew they couldn't beat all the demons in this room at once.

"Oh Dean" Alistair's voice dripped with disappointed "you always were so impatient, but don't worry because I'm going to kill you myself soon enough"

"Tie them up" Alistair ordered the other demons.

As the demons advanced on the three of them Dean drew Ruby's knife and managed to slit two of the demons throats before another three demons pinned him down.

Sam fought Alistair while Claire fought Meg.

"Unless you want him to die right now I'd stop fighting if I was you" said one of the demons who had Dean.

Sam looked up at his brother and reluctantly stopped, Claire followed his lead. Alistair took the knife from Dean and the three of them were dragged to the cellar and handcuffed to the pipes.

"Don't go anywhere "Alistair said smiling at his own joke I'll be back when I've had time to prepare"

"Prepare what?" Claire asked after he and the other demons were gone

"Some slow and painful way of killing us I'd guess" Dean told her

"Thanks for your honestly" she replied

"Well if you can't be honest when you're about to die when can you be?" Dean asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Claire wasn't sure how long had passed when she woke up on the cold cellar floor but there was a figure standing in the shadows holding a knife.

"Sssh" she thought she heard him say as he stepped out of the shadows, she glanced at Sam and Dean at either side of her.

"Jimmy" Dean whispered looking confused

"Not Jimmy" Claire realised as Castiel stepped out of the shadow, she could still tell them apart somehow.

He leant down beside the three of them and unlocked their handcuffs

"You'll want this back" he handed Rubys knife to Dean

"How are you here, what about Jimmy?" Dean asked taking the knife

"We should get out of here before I answer your questions" Castiel told them.

Seconds later he had teleported them to a deserted warehouse

Claire threw her arms round Castiel "I missed you so much"

"I missed you too" he held onto Claire as her ran his hand thru her hair.

"Ok I don't want to break up the big reunion here but what's going on Cas?" Dean asked

"I have this note from Jimmy" he handed it to Claire

Claire took the note and began reading

"Ok so what does it say?" Dean asked when she had finished reading

"He went home and his wife had a new husband so he tried getting on with his life but now he wants to give Cas and me the chance that Cas gave him, to be together and to be happy"

"He said yes to being my vessel again just a few days ago" Castiel explained "it took this long to track you down and when I found out you had been captured I took the knife back and killed the three demons that were guarding you"

"There were more than three Demons" Sam told him

"Maybe once they had us chained up they didn't think they all needed to stay behind" Dean suggested

"Yeah I guess" Sam agreed "we should get back to the motel; I think we could all do with some sleep"

It was late but Claire couldn't sleep she turned over to see Castiel looking at her

"Are you ok?" he asked

"I'm glad you back" she told him "but I'm sorry for Jimmy"

"I was worried" he admitted "that I'd come back and you might also have found someone else"

"Never" she told him defiantly "you know if you're going to watch me you could get in" she lifted the covers"

"I don't need to sleep" he reminded her

"But you can, and besides sleeping wasn't what I had in mind"

"Then what? Oh" he realised "well I have missed that" he grinned as he took off his clothes and climbed into bed besides Claire.


	4. Chapter 4

It was almost afternoon by the time Claire woke up and she smiled as Castiel lay beside her

"I was worried it might have been a dream" she admitted "I had a lot of dreams about you when you were gone"

The were interrupted by a knock at the door

"Are you guys decent?" Sams voice asked through the door

"Just a minute" Claire jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes

"Hey" she said opening the door slightly

"We're leaving in half an hour" he told her

"Ok we'll be ready" Claire told him

"So where are we going?" Claire asked as she snuggled up to Castiel in the Back seat.

"We have a case in Texas" Dean told her "Vampires"

"OK" Claire answered but didn't seem particularly bothered as she and Castiel kissed.

"Get a room" Dean complained

"We had a room" Claire said still not taking her eyes off Castiel "but then you sent Sam to tell us we were leaving and we had to leave our room"

Castiel smiled back at her. "She has a point"

"Well we could just drop you two off at the next motel and leave you to do…whatever" he suggested

"No, I want to be part of this, we'll be good I promise" Claire flashed Dean an apologetic look

Sam laughed

"Stop encouraging them Sammy"

"I think it's cute" he argued "and it's nice seeing you happy again Claire"

"Dude you are so gay" Dean argued

The "vampires" turned out to be a group of university students dressing up as part of some pledge

"I say we check into a motel for the night and then look for a new case tomorrow" Dean suggested, Sam and Claire agreed.

Claire slept better and it was 6am when she woke up to see Castiel pacing the room

"Cas what's wrong?" she asked.

"I need to ask you something"

"Ok" she realised he looked nervous "well whatever it is it can't be that bad, so just ask"

"He walked over and sat down on her bed "I love you" he began

"I love too"

"When I was without a vessel I realised how much I really do love you and so I have to ask you, will you marry me?"

"Yes" Claire didn't even need to think about it as she threw her arms round Castiel. As she let go she realised he was holding a box with a ring inside

"Oh Cas you even bought a ring, its beautiful" she took it and slid it onto her finger

She kissed Castiel then a thought occurred to her "Cas you don't even have a last name"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well traditionally a woman takes the guys' last name when they marry"

"You never seemed to be the kind of woman to stick to tradition" he remembered back to their first date when Claire had insisted on paying.

"Yes you're right" she agreed "you could take my last name instead" She suggested

"Ok" he agreed "Umm Castiel Collins, it sounds right somehow doesn't it?"

"Yes" she agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

**One year later**

Claire walked down the aisle towards Castiel, with Sam walking beside her. She was so pleased that he had agreed to give her away; he and Dean were now the closest things she had to family and Castiel too obviously. He stood waiting with a big grin on his face and Dean stood next to him holding the ring as his best man.

Castiel had wanted to marry Claire a lot sooner but Claire had wanted to wait until after the baby was born. Now that their daughter Paige was 3 months old and Claire could fit into the beautiful long white dress they was no reason to put it off any a longer.

Dean and Sam had organised almost everything, calling in favours with a priest who they had once performed an exorcism for. He agreed to give them free use of the church and said he would perform the wedding ceremony.

The church was full people Sam and Dean had helped, some of them Claire knew as she'd helped them too but others were from before she'd met Castiel and the Winchesters.

"You look amazing" Dean whispered as Claire reached them

Castiel eyed Dean suspiciously

"I meant that in a wholesome practically family kind of way" he whispered

Claire grinned and Castiel couldn't help but grin back almost forgetting that Dean was even there.

The two of them didn't take their eyes of each other as they said they vows, then finally they kissed and were husband and wife.

A lady in the front row dabs her eyed with a tissue. Claire remembered her for a haunting she had worked on with the Winchester while Castiel had been gone.

While on the honeymoon Castiel woke one night to a bright light coming from outside, he quietly got up and went outside.

"Michael what do you want?"

"Heaven's almost closed off again" the angel told Castiel "You need to come back with me or you won't ever be able to come back"

"Then I'll never come back" Castiel didn't even need to give it any thought "I have a wife and daughter now I won't leave them and I won't hurt Claire like that, not again"

"You know what you're doing? You'll become mortal" Michael asked "giving up everything and for what?"

"For my family" he told him defiantly

"There was a time when we were your family" Michael told him

"And then you cut me off and I found someone more deserving" he argued

"Very well" Michael admitted defeat "Goodbye Castiel" then he was gone and Castiel returned to him room and fell asleep next to his wife.

**Six years later**

Castiel returned home from work and was greeted by his daughter Paige and his son Matthew

"Daddy daddy" Paige cried with excitement Uncle Sam and Uncle Dean are here to see us and they bought us presents"

"Oh yeah?" he asked picking them both up and carrying towards the house "What did they give you"

Paige pulled out a vampire doll while Matthew showed him a Zombie doll.

Castiel laughed "Nice"

Daddy" Mathew said

"Yes"

"Can you tell Paige? She was cheating again when we were playing hide and seek and I almost found her but then she did that thing where she's not there anymore and she appears somewhere else.

"Paige honey don't do that, you know it's not fair to your brother because he can't do that"

"Sorry Daddy" Paige said


End file.
